1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a flushing apparatus for internal combustion engines, and more particularly concerns an improved configuration for an oil pan drain port adapter assembly to be connected to the oil pan drain of an internal combustion engine.
2.Description of Related Art
During operation of the internal combustion engine, oil is taken from the oil pan, where it is typically stored, and circulated throughout the engine to lubricate the internal moving parts. For optimal engine operation and life, and for effective lubrication, the oil must be clean and maintain its lubricating qualities. To keep the oil free of the larger metal particles and dirt that inevitably are created and accumulate in the oil with continued engine use, a replaceable oil filter is typically carried on the engine. Additionally, to eliminate the more minute particles and acid that builds up in the oil, which the filter cannot remove, the engine oil pan is periodically drained and replenished with new oil, and a new oil filter may be installed.
Even with such periodic maintenance not all the foreign particles are removed. Over time an oily "sludge" is formed within parts of the engine from such foreign particles, particularly in the oil pan. That sludge degrades engine performance, and can release particles after the oil has been replaced. The presence of those particles in the oil leads to premature engine wear.
To reach and remove that sludge without disassembling the engine, an engine flushing apparatus is known which treats the engine with a cleaning solution, circulating the cleaning fluid through the engine and oil drain pan from which the engine oil has been drained. In such an flushing apparatus a conduit, typically a hose, capable of withstanding fluid under pressure, is connected to the oil filter port leading to the engine's lubrication system. Another conduit is connected to the drain plug port at the engine's oil pan. The flushing fluid is circulated from the apparatus through one conduit, into the engine, whereby the fluid ideally dissolves the sludge and collects any foreign particles in suspension. The flushing fluid exits the engine with the dissolved and suspended waste via the oil pan drain port and the second conduit, through which the now "dirty" flushing fluid is returned to the flushing apparatus for further processing or disposal.
Such conventional flushing apparatus continues circulating the cleaning fluid for a prescribed treatment period. Since the size and type of oil filter port and oil pan drain port differs from automobile manufacturer to manufacturer and even among different models or model year of a single auto manufacturer, the flushing apparatus includes a necessary set of associated adapters to permit connection of the conduits to the respective oil filter and oil pan drain ports of the vast majority of automobile engines.
In fitting adapters to oil pan drain port of the engine, many components and accessories packed in the engine compartment of modern automobiles provide formidable obstructions to connection of the flushing apparatus to the oil pan drain port. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a configuration for adapter assemblies for the oil pan drain port that can more easily fit in restricted spaces of an engine compartment during the flushing operation. The present invention meets these needs.